Baja 500 Adventure

2011 and the mx43.com Baja Team is 2 for 2!

It seems that 2011 is turning out to be a great year for the mx43.com/Fly Gear riders. We just returned from our second race of the 3 race series and brought home the 1^st place trophy in the Class 50 division for the motorcycles.  San Felipe (Baja) 250, The Baja 500 with the Baja 1000 being the last event of the year to be run in November.

It was a great week of pre riding, (well when is a week of riding anywhere not GREAT?) but also a good day at the race with only a couple of things that didn’t go  according to plan and those were quickly overcome.

Jim Dizney is rider of record and is recovering from a broken leg. His supporting cast of characters were Dave Potts, Ray Spore, Charlie Marshall, Doug Smith and myself (Eric McKenna). However since I had a mishap 2 days before the start and failed to make the start, everyone else stepped up and did everything needed to fill in the gaps. Awesome job you guys!

A special Thanks to Dave Potts since he was the one that had to step up and do my start section of the event. Just a little insight on the start of the Baja races that begin in Ensenada. The start takes place around 6am, just about when the sun is coming over the horizon and guess which way you head out on the bike when you do the start, yup, EAST; Directly into the rising sun. Then take the fact that since it is the start of the race everyone is still bunched up and the dust is so thick it is like riding through a construction zone that they forgot to water. So at times visibility is ZERO!

Since I was relegated to spectator status the only contribution I could make was to be a shuttle driver to check splits at crossover roads and pick up and drop people off and offer moral support. Sure gives a guy a whole new perspective on the race when you watch it go by instead of being on the bike as it goes by. I actually had a good time doing whatever I could but could have done without the hobbling around with a beat up body part, (broken ribs).

Boy did they step up! I believe the next finisher in the class was about 2 hours behind our time.  We did have a tight race going for the first 2 ½ hours of the race with the O’Neal entry until one of their riders had a mishap in an extremely rocky area and was unable to continue due to injuries. That opened the door for the rest of the race and it became a equipment/rider management ride. That is to say we needed to make our equipment go the remaining 400 miles and our riders do the same without getting anyone injured.

Everyone did their job perfectly and rode to an uncontested win on the Jim Dizney prepped, Fly Gear supported, mx43.com CRF-X 450 Honda. We were blessed with no mechanical problems and very few rider induced errors. I heard a couple of small stories but I don’t think I need to make fun of anyone that did such a good job of recovering  after running into a tree………..do they have trees in Baja?

I thought it was all cactus!

It turned out to be a good day of racing with the seasoned riders on our team, but with one new addition.

The new guy on the team was Ray Spore. He is a long time rider with years of experience in motocross, cross country racing, trail riding and event promoting. But Ray was our Baja Debutant!  It seems Ray is a member of the famous Dirt Diggers North Motorcycle Club and has been for a number of years. If you know your history of motorcycle racing and follow professional outdoor motocross then you know that the Dirt Diggers North Motorcycle Club (DDNMC) has been putting on one of the oldest and finest professional motocross events in the U.S.A. better known as HANGTOWN in Northern California for more than 40 years!

Ray wore that DDNMC jersey like an American Flag! He was grinning ear to ear every time I saw him. His wife Jennifer and son Kelby were with him and seemed to have the Spore ear to ear grin that must be a family trademark on their faces too. Somehow every time I saw them I got the feeling they were having more fun than anyone else in Mexico! They truly were a joy to have on the team.

Thanks to everyone on our team, all of our sponsors, FLY Racing, Hinson clutch, MTA-west, BRP, XR’s Only, RBR Mx, Scott USA Moto, Dirt Tricks, Acerbis USA, Baja Designs, ASV Inventions, IMS, Motion Pro, ZLT, Precision Concepts, and all of our support crew.

I will be ready for the next one and can hopefully make up for this one.

#33

CROSS TRAINING.....WITH A .45

When was the last time you did some Cross-Training?

We hear about it all the time but rarely take the time to really think about it or actually do it. Cross-Training (for riding your motorcycle) can be anything from golf to bicycling to archery to shooting.

I recently picked up a 9mm Beretta that I have owned for years but had not shot for a few years. I was lucky enough to meet a few guys (read Geezers) that shoot on a regular basis and they invited me out to shoot with them. What a surprise! These guys could shoot and none of them were under 60 years old! The Super-Geezer of the group is named Bill and he is just short of his 83^rd  birthday. Simply amazing.

Then there is Tony, Terry and Tom, all excellent shooters with Tony being exceptional in his weapons handling and quickness with a firearm. I am learning to watch Tony closely because I see things he is doing that I should be doing if I want to improve my shooting proficiency.

These guys are all very enthusiastic about shooting and enjoy being out doing what they do. I doubt they will ever be sitting on the couch complaining of having nothing to do. Truly an inspiration for kids like me.

So what I learned from these guys is to stay motivated, stay involved in something you enjoy and get off the couch no matter what birthday you are about to celebrate.

I also learned from them that I need to work on my concentration, focus and consistency, no matter what sport I am engaged in at the time. In other words, I sucked when I first shot with them until I did these things and put the pieces of the puzzle together. I will continue to shoot with them and hopefully they will continue to teach along the way.

Thanks guys, but know that I am gunnin’ for you!

#33

Trail Ride...Or Wood Cutting?

Be careful the next time you get invited to an EXCLUSIVE trail ride!

I was invited to go on a trail ride with a couple of buddies and that there would only be 3 of us. They said we would be riding seldom used trails that would provide us with hours of adventure.

Now I am not sure, but I am thinking when you go on an adventure of any kind on a motorcycle it means some really excellent riding. What I didn’t realize was that my “buddies” invited me because they needed help clearing the trails they wanted to ride on their little adventure!

We spent half of our time riding on some of the best hidden, underused, pristine trails I have seen in many years.

The other half of our time was spent moving downed winter logs, negotiating snow, sawing logs and cutting limbs and branches to make some of these seldom used trails passable. The riding half of our time was getting from work point to work point. Of course this did include riding some of the coolest and most beautiful trails that took us from one trail clearing place to the next.

We rode on trails that I am not sure I could find again and had to follow my ride leaders Frank and Larry in order to find them at all.

I had a great time and would be first in line to go again, it was such good riding and the clearing became a game and a challenge to figure out how to move the downed timber. Just imagine riding your motorcycle and throwing in a circuit training exercise course for a little extra exercise. I am pretty sure I worked harder and sweated more using the hand saw than I did riding the bike.

I had a smile on my face at the end of the adventure. Good times!

Thanks guys,

#33

Honey Lake... A Good Old Time MX

Let me start out by apologizing if you missed the Honey Lake Old Timer MX this first weekend in May. It must have been my fault for not getting information out to you or surely you would have attended!

Then let me say Na, Na, Na, Na, Na, Nah!!!

You missed an awesome track, cool personalized trophies, a fantastic dinner, a great entertainer at dinner, just about perfect track weather, a raffle courtesy of MTA West and some of the best racing in 2011.

I have to mention that the raffle alone was worth the trip. There were a dozen or so tires, riding gear, helmet, many sets of goggles, a bunch of sweatshirts, and a bazillion small items. Things like mud scrapers, overflow hoses, hats, grips and on and on.

Sad to say that the turnout was smaller than expected, but we did have high expectations. However, the riders that took the opportunity to ride the legendary Honey Lake track were treated to a condensed program. That meant bigger than average gates and a program that didn’t have you waiting around for hours to ride your next moto. It also meant that the racing was completed in a timely fashion with plenty of daylight left to spare to prepare for dinner without hurrying or watching the food line form as you went to the line for your final moto. I have been riding my final moto on more than one occasion at other tracks while others were being served dinner.

I observed people strolling around after doing their bike prep for the next day with clean clothes and their beverage of choice in hand (mostly beer!) visiting their friends and neighbors while they had a little time before heading up the hill to dinner.

The dinner was catered and the main course was Tri-Tip, with the trimmings, beans, veggies, baked potato and desert. Good stuff, I thought about trying to sneak back for seconds on that Tri-Tip but was afraid of Larry’s wife Lise. Just kidding!

Lise is a sweetheart and does such a fantastic job of running the program in sign-up and scoring that I don’t know how she maintains that sunny disposition all the time and the smile that seems to never leave her face.

Larry is busy running the outdoor part of the operation and obviously has learned a great deal about running a world class facility along the way. He seems to never stop moving, is always doing something, making something happen around the track like driving a water truck, dealing with issues that pop up all day long and never gives the appearance of being annoyed with people. During all of this never ending commotion over three days of running the track and crew he still took the time to stop to see Lise and the kids and made sure to give the little ones a hug while he was there. Amazing man really.

The weekend was just about as good as a rider could ask for with some sunshine, some clouds that kept the track from drying too quickly and a minimum of injuries throughout the weekend. I believe the worst being a broken collarbone, but no ambulance rides which is a very good thing for a bunch of Geezers!

So if you were one of the unfortunate ones that didn’t make it to Honey Lake for the OTMX you will have to wait for next year. But my advice to you is to put it on your calendar so as not to make the same mistake twice. Only now you have to show up and ride against a bunch of your friends that have one up on you. They have ridden one of the best tracks in the Motocross world and will use that experience to their advantage.  Bring it on!!

See you there next year!

#33

Whose Faster? A Policeman or a Fireman?

2011  Fire/Police MX

Have you ever been to a race that you felt really safe?

I recently attended the Opening round of the 2011 Fire/Police MX, put on by a Fireman named Ed Wilson. Ed has been putting on motocross events since 1989 in the Southern California motocross community. But the biggest difference in the races Ed promotes is that you must be with a badge carrying Police or Fire agency. So the fact that you are in the pits, lining up with and racing against guys that most people hold in such high regard gives you a really good feeling.  Actually I would have to go one step further and say that it makes you feel proud to be associated with a group of this caliber.  

These guys obviously put a lot of time and effort into their chosen profession and it definitely carries over into their recreational activities. Some of them are riding at the Expert level of competition which shows the kind of commitment they are willing to put out just in the name of friendly competition. There are no purses, paychecks or big time sponsorships on the line. Only the Gold, Silver or Bronze medal awarded in each class, and the fact that they performed to the best of their ability at the end of the day.

A couple of very fast and talented riders in the Open Expert class were Ryan Chapin and Alex Zapata. They put on quite a show with Ryan Chapin mounted on a Yamaha being the big winner over the two days of racing at the Cahuilla Creek facility. That must be why Chapin is the 2011 #1 plate holder for the FPMX series.

The Cahuilla Creek track was very well prepped with overnight rains to make sure there was no dust anywhere on the track. Track workers did a fantastic job of keeping the track in good condition throughout the 2 days of racing. It was an excellent layout with high speed sections, fast down hills, uphill jumps, table tops, hill top flyover jumps  and a couple of rhythm sections to incorporate almost any kind of obstacle you could imagine. The lap times were running close to the three minute mark.

If you ever get a chance to go to a FPMX you should take it. Ed also has civilian classes and support classes to give husbands, wives, kids and friends or family a class to ride.

Check out their schedule of events at firepolicemx.com